


Innocent Magics

by wastingawallflower



Category: Merlin - Fandom
Genre: Kidnapping, Light Torture, Magic, Magic Revealed, Minor Violence, Rope Bondage, Sad with a Happy Ending, Threats of Rape/Non-Con, trigger warning
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-08-25
Updated: 2015-08-25
Packaged: 2018-04-17 03:52:52
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Underage
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,692
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4651197
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/wastingawallflower/pseuds/wastingawallflower
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Merlin was going on thirteen now, his village was quiet. The kind of place nothing ever happened. Momma told him to stay low, keep his magic hidden, but the men were so strong, he couldn't control himself. And he had to save her! ....Someone so innocent should not look so lethal.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Innocent Magics

**Author's Note:**

> Please be aware of the trigger warnings  
> -Threats of rape  
> -Kidnapping  
> -Light Torture  
> -Light Violence

**Innocent Magics**

 

Merlin was going on thirteen now; it wasn’t very long that he would be starting a journey he could have never imagined…

 

It happened so fast…Merlin’s mum was thrown to the ground, they kicked and kicked and they weren’t going to stop. The bandits had ravaged their village for all they had, taking their food, clothes and livestock. Most of the men had gone out to hunt for the upcoming winter, leaving the village more or less defenseless.

Merlin watched as his mother was beaten, men holding him back by the arms. He had to do something; it was his mother after all. Merlin began to tremble, at such a young age he wasn’t able to control his magic very well, and it was more of an emotional reflex more than anything. Merlin’s eyes began to flicker a familiar gold when his mum shouted, “No, Merlin!”

Merlin stopped cold, confusion sweeping over his delicate features. The second of pause gave one of the bandits enough time to hit him over the head with something, ending his brief reign of bravery. The last thing he heard his was his mum shout “No don’t take him!” then the darkness overtook.

 

 

It had been hours since Merlin had seen the sunlight. He had been knocked unconscious, dragged and bound. He was currently moving at a steadily pace inside of a cage atop a carriage. The ride was rough and his head was sore from what felt like an open wound. As he began to come to he could hear murmurs of men coming from all around him. His vision cleared and what he saw in the cage frightened him beyond words. Most, if not all of the children from his village, were tied and gagged inside of the cage, most tear stained and shaking. He had heard of bandits kidnapping and selling villagers as slaves but he never thought his little village would fall victim to such horrid evil.

Merlin sobbed if only for a moment, then locked eyes with a dark haired girl across the cage, she wasn’t much younger than him. They must have hit a ditch because the next thing he knew she went flying right into his lap. She sat up and started to sob beneath her gag. He wanted to comfort her so, but he was preoccupied with the banter of the men around him.

 

“Look at the wee pretty one eh, bet we get a pretty penny for her won’t we.”

“Shut up Westley! You can’t take em for ye own.  They’re for the King you drab!”

“I knew, I knew, dis ones just so sweet lookin ain’t she.” The man ran his hand over the cage bars, stroking them. “If I had enough, I’d be payin for some time with her.”

“Westley!” The other man shouted “We all will get paid, ye hear. What ya do with yer money is none of my business.”

 

The men spoke funny and Merlin didn’t like any of this, he wanted to go home and be with his mum. The tears began to welt up again; he was scared beyond belief and just wanted out. He felt a familiar flutter. Something deep in his gut, almost like butterflies or an upset stomach. His magic was about to make itself known. Merlin clenched his fists and tightened his eyes, trying to hold it back, keep it deep down like momma had taught him. It was no use, it was never any use, he started to tremble and sob beneath the gag. He could hear the little girl beside him scamper quickly away, obviously startled by what he was doing. There was a distant howl of wind and with a small but significant glow of his eyes, Merlin’s gag fell from his mouth and the ropes around his wrists and ankles slithered away like snakes. One by one each of the children’s bounds began to shimmy and move until they were all free from constraints.

“What in the hell?!” One man shouted from beside the cage.

“Stop, Stop!” Many men yelled to the group ahead, the driver rearing the horses to a cease.

 

Merlin was still trembling, in fear and residual magic. The children had gathered around him, backing into a corner away from the opening. The dark haired girl was no longer crying, but had extended her hand from her pocket and wriggled her fingers around Merlin’s. There was silence from the men. Now that Merlin had a chance to focus and see them all together, there wasn’t as many as he presumed, maybe eight or ten all together. All their gazes fell upon one very large man who exited the front of the carriage and began to make his way to the cage opening. He walked with a limp, and was the fattest man Merlin had ever seen. His cane was black, along with all of his other clothing, though he wore far too much jewelry that was acceptable for one man. His face was lined and greasy, Merlin presumed all these men never bathed.

He limped from the steps, along the side of the cage, raking his cane over the bars. He breathed heavily with each step as if it took enormous effort to move around that much body weight.

“Well, well.” He said funnily. “What have the kiddies got here, a wee hero I presume?”

Many of the children began to weep; most weren’t older than six or seven, Merlin and the brunette girl being the exception. The fat man began to whistle, a tune that Merlin had never heard but it didn’t rest easy on his ears.

“Are ye going to make yerself known, hero?” The man asked, in-between whistling. He rounded the cage and was approaching the children, many of which had moved to the other side, but a few were frozen in fear. Merlin could feel the girl’s grip tighten around his fingers, it hurt but it was also a weird form of reassurance. The man was close enough now that Merlin could see the tiny bits of crumb on his chin from what must have been a midafternoon meal. The girl was clenching her eyes shut, squeezing Merlin’s hand, she could feel the fat man’s breath on her neck as he stood behind her, mere bars between them. Something snapped. He then grabbed her long locks of brown hair, which made her head slam against the iron bars.

“Stop!” Merlin screamed in unison to her shriek.

“Eye little one, you gonna make me stop?” He fumed.

 

Merlin couldn’t help it; he felt the flutter from his hand that was still gripped tight to the girls, panic overtaking him. The flash was quick but the man’s hand soon released from the girl’s hair in an instant, electricity coursing through Merlin, running through girl, and then into the wretched man, sending him stammering a few paces back on his feet.

“Get the children from the cage!” the man shouted “All but this wee one here, we’ve captured ourselves a gem boys. Don’t know what the kings going to do with you do we now.”

One by one the children were dragged from the cage, Merlin, frozen in fear. He had just used magic, in front of so many people. Momma was going to be so mad at him.

Each man from the group held a child, they were circled around the cage, and holding them tightly, most had blades to their throats. The man approached Merlin once again, foul food odor spewed from his lips.

“What are you wee one, ye have magic, I know. Though yer too young to be able to do such tings.” His eyes widened with curiosity.

“Why have you captured us?” Merlin spoke in a broken voice.

“Oh don’t be scared child” the man whispered, inching closer to Merlin’s face “You’re for the boogeyman.” He backed away with a joyous laugh, one that was copied by his men.

Merlin shuttered, the cries of the kids around started to seep into him. He just wanted to go home. “Please let us go” Merlin cried.

The man reached through the cage and grabbed Merlin by the hair, his head squeezing into the bars making the wound on his forehead ache.

“I will fetch such a pretty penny for you young witch” he spat “Ever feel a cock wee one? Ever feel the breath of a grown man rutting up behind your shoulders.” He was making crude gestures with his hips. “Me King loves him some tiny kiddies don’t he boys?” The men around the cage joined in with laughter and chants. “We are takin you boy! And we are sellin you to the boogeyman, there’s nothin ye can do about it. Magic now, tats jus a bonus for us. See the wee dark one eh. She’s for us, she’s little ya but some burley men will soon sort her out. You try anytin funny and I’ll make ya drink her blood, ye hear me?” Merlin could feel the warm breath of the man on his face and it made him want to vomit. His eyes started to glow and the man released his grip on Merlin’s hair only to tighten it one more and slap his face into the metal. “I told ye no magic!” He spat in Merlin’s face.

The man holding the girl sliced a thin line across her cheek, bright red seeping down her soft skin. “No!” Merlin screamed. One of the men that was holding a smaller child had passed him off and began to enter the cage.

Everything grew silent, as if time had stopped. The wind grew louder and there was a faint buzzing in Merlin’s head. He had felt this before, once when he had seen a young boy being bullied, he couldn’t help it. It was like instinct and raw nature all at once, there was no stopping it. His magic began in his toes; he felt the tremor like a feather’s tickle. It traveled through his legs and into his belly, beginning to grow in power. Merlin began to shake, tremor all over. The hand that was still holding his hair taunt had released and backed away. Merlin’s eyes were shut but he could hear the men whisper, he could feel the tremor of the cage rattling, feel the horses rutting up against their saddles. The magic kept growing and growing, trailing its way into Merlin’s heart and through his arms, seeping into his fingertips, until it was too late.

 

Everything exploded.

 

Merlin stood in the middle of the cage, wind circling around him, his eyes shining the truest gold. All the bandits were frozen in fear, caught in the small storm that was only circling them, the large man was now holding the girl by the throat, and Merlin could see the color draining from her lips. Then it happened. He lost control; the magic that everyone told him to hide and never call upon had exploded from every pore in his body. Every single man holding a child against their will had flown from a standing position, into the air and far away from the babes. They had all been knocked unconscious, all except the fat one. Merlin turned to look at him, hair messed from the howling wind and eyes filled with fierce rage. Someone so innocent should not look so lethal.

“Come on young warlock!” The man shouted above the storm, hand increasing its grip on the girl’s neck. “We are goin to rape ye girl and motha in front of ya and then we are gonna feed you to our King young warlock!”

Merlin reached out a hand and the man let go of the girl, gripping his own throat instead, the girl crawled to the side of the cage, hiding behind the wheel. The man fell to his knees, the bars of the cage broke free and Merlin almost seemed to float in the middle among the chaos. His eyes shined gold. He began to clench his tiny fist and the man started to choke, he scratched and clawed at his flesh trying to release the invisible grip the young warlock had on him. Merlin showed no emotion, magic now completely enveloping him.

 

“Merlin, Stop!” He heard a small scream. The girl! She stood beside Merlin atop the cage reaching for his hand. “You don’t have to kill him Merlin” She eased. “We are okay now, look” She motioned to the right; all the children were huddled by a tree, most only dirty, without any injuries. “Let’s go home Merlin.” She pleaded.

Merlin could feel the magic begin to subside. The twisting in his stomach, beginning to ease, his hand felt like they were on fire. The girl slowly came into focus; he almost fell over from the wave of nausea that overcame him. The storm began to dwindle and the fat man fell flat on his face into the dirt from suffocation. Merlin’s feet landed flatly on the wooden floor; he reached out and took her hand, never feeling more at peace. “Thank you” He murmured behind teary cheeks. “I…I don’t know what happened. I couldn’t stop and then he was hurting you and I…”

“Shhh…” The girl coaxed Merlin “You saved us, you’re a hero. Let’s just find our way home okay?” Still hand in hand she led him down the steps of the cage and to the tree surrounded by children. “This is Merlin.” She said proudly much too calm for a girl who just went through such an experience. “He saved us and now he’s going to get us home to our mummies and daddies, that’s what you want right?” They erupted with joyous yes’s and little laughs. “Okay then lock hands and we’ll be on our way.”

 

Merlin was still shaking from the ordeal, he could hear the men around him begin to wake and cough. “Wh…What’s your name?” he stuttered.

She chuckled “Gwen, it’s nice to meet you Merlin, now take a hand. We have a lot of walking to do.”

 

Merlin listened to the bossy girl who he now knew was called Gwen, taking a child’s hand and forming a train of young individuals. She was going to get them home safe; there was something he trusted about her.

“Wait!” Merlin turned on his heel almost making their little human train fall all over each other.

“What is it Merlin?” Gwen whispered.

 

Merlin muttered something under his breath, something Gwen couldn’t make out. It sounded like gibberish, there was a gust of wind, a bit of a shimmer then the sound of slithering. The ropes that had bonded the children were crawling in from every direction, some broken and worn from the storm, but most were intact. They glided like snakes around the bandits arms, legs and mouths, tightened enough to stop any movement. They started to glow once securely around the men’s appendages.

 

“That’ll keep them here until the knights can get them.” Merlin mused.

“How did you do that Merlin?” Gwen asked in a quiet voice.

“I don’t know Gwen.” He let out a breath. “Momma says I am going to visit one of her friends in a couple years, says he knows what all of this is about. You can come with me if you want.” He reached for her hand.

“Let’s just get home safely first.” Gwen flashed a reassuring smile, patted his shoulder and started walking ahead of Merlin with many feet in toe.

 

Merlin gave one look back. The cage was in shambles, there was a circled crop perfectly where the storm had surrounded their barrage. Branches were broken, men were bleeding and there was a distinct essence of magic on the wind. He wanted to cry, looking at all the destruction he had caused, it wasn’t his fault, he kept saying in his head. He just couldn’t help it. He heard the laughter of a small boy from up ahead which quickly pulled him from his thoughts. Merlin ran to the group and began on the long walk home.

 

The End


End file.
